Gift Wrapping Costing Too Much This Holiday Season?

December 21, 2015

According to research from Hallmark, Americans spend approximately $3.2 billion a year on wrapping paper. That presumably includes things like gift bags which, according to Hallmark, are the No. 1 way consumers wrap gifts. In any case, the more gifts you buy, the more wrapping paper or gift bags you’ll likely use. So, when making your holiday budget did you remember to include the cost of gift wrapping? With the gifting season fast approaching, we thought it best to share some budget friendly gift wrapping ideas.

Budget Friendly Gift Wrapping Tips

Start looking around your own home first: You have surely received many gifts throughout the years in many types of wrapping paper and gift bags. If you are like me, you keep the gift bags and wrapping paper for late use. This may be the time to take them out and use as suitable. You can also use scrap paper and used cards as gift tags. Here’s a guide to turning your cards into cute gift tags

If you must shop for wrapping paper or greeting cards, shop for bargains: In a typical specialty card shop, greeting cards, wrapping paper, or gift bags can be priced at $3.99 or more. Make sure you visit the dollar store or the thrift store nearby to get these at a fraction of the cost. Look for bargain buys such as multi-card packs, tissue paper packs instead of wrapping paper with a ribbon to go with it.

Research for free printable gift wrapping options: Do a little digging online and you will be able to find a great deal of free printable versions of wrapping paper. All you will need is a full cartridge of ink on your printer and you are all set!

DIY gift wrapping options: There are a plenty of ways to create your own unique gift wrap. You can convert newspapers, grocery bags, or literally any type of paper lying around the house to create your own wrapping paper. You can also make a fun project with kids and let them add their artistic touches to a unique wrapping paper. Here are some more gift wrapping ideas that you can try out this holiday season.

You can find more interesting ways as alternatives to costly gift wrap here.

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Dilini is a Marking Communications & Programs Associate at ACCC. To anyone, managing finances can be a real challenge! Any tips and tricks to help get through this is great! Dilini will share her experiences, tips and tricks along the way through the Talking Cents blog. Stay tuned!

About Blog

Talking Cents was created by the staff of the nonprofit organization, American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC). Not satisfied with providing credit counseling, debt management, and financial education alone, these renegade employees took to the blogosphere in the hopes of helping not only their current clients, but the rest of the world at large to tackle more of the topics affecting people’s everyday financial lives.